The first
meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Protected Areas (PAs) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
opened on Monday, 13 June, in Montecatini, Italy.
Delegates convened in plenary and sub-working group sessions. Plenary
heard opening statements and keynote presentations, and addressed
organizational matters. Sub-Working Group I (SWG-I) addressed options for
cooperation for establishing marine protected areas (MPAs)
in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Sub-Working Group II (SWG-II)
considered: options for mobilizing financial resources; and the process
for reviewing implementation of the work programme
on PAs.
Above photo: AlteroMatteoli, Minister of Environment and Territory of Italy addressing the plenary.

Special Message of the
President of the Italian Republic H.E. Carlo AzeglioCiampi to the First Meeting of the AdHoc
Open-ended Working Group on Protected Areas:

" TheAd Hoc Open-Ended Working Group Meeting is a renewal of Italy's
pledge towards preserving the ecosystem and Protected Areas. The
world's forests, deserts, rivers, lakes and seas are the habitat of
most of the planet's species. The wide variety in the species that
inhabit the earth guarantees our survival and is under threat, largely
from a deteriorating environment.
There is a call for shared strategies aimed at establishing a
coordinated course of action to establish a new humanism, combining
environmental policies with ethics and economic development in a single
model of constructive integration between peoples and nation.
Fully aware of the elevated value of the contributions that will emerge
from this meeting, I send the Minister, the illustrious speakers and
all those present my best wishes of good work."

Left photo: H.E. Carlo AzeglioCiampi, President of the ItalianRepublic
(photo courtesy of UNESCO/Andrew Wheeler)

OPENING
PLENARY:

EttoreSeveri, Mayor of Montecatini,
welcomed participants to the city and noted the fundamental
contribution of PAs to biodiversity
conservation.

AlteroMatteoli, Minister of
Environment and Territory
of Italy,
highlighted the country’s biological and cultural diversity and
PA system.

Aldo Cosentino, Director General
for Nature Protection, Ministry of Environment and Territory of Italy,
urged governments to find solutions to establishing PAs
in the high seas.

LetchumananRamatha, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environment of Malaysia, speaking on behalf of
COP-7 President, called for increasing PA coverage, and highlighted
support to local communities, long-term financial sustainability of PAs, and their integration into broader land- and
seascapes as key elements in the implementation of the work programme.

HamdallahZedan, CBD Executive
Secretary, outlined challenges for achieving the 2010 target of
significantly reducing biodiversity loss, including improving
coverage, representativeness and management
of the current PA system. He also thanked the Government and people
of Italy
for hosting the meeting.

UNESCO said
that protection of natural sites under the World Heritage Convention
aims both at conserving their biodiversity and contributing to the
implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Above photo: KishorRao (UNESCO)

The CONVENTION ON MIGRATORY SPECIES (CMS) underscored its commitment to
implementing the work programme on PAs.
Above photo: Paola Deda (CMS)

Ghana,
on behalf of the AFRICAN GROUP, underlined the need for: agreement on
new and additional financial resources and establishment of a special
trust fund for PAs.
Above photo: Alfred Oteng-Yeboah (Ghana)

Above photos
L-R: Peter Bos (the Netherlands),
speaking on behalf of the EU, BULGARIA and ROMANIA, favored a bottom-up
and participatory approach to PA selection and management; MarisolDimas
(Panama), speaking on behalf of the LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
GROUP, noted that PA sustainability can be achieved if instruments and
resources are adequate and if local communities and civil society are
sufficiently involved; Dionysius S.K. Sharma (WWF-Malaysia),
speaking on behalf of an NGO consortium, underscored the contribution
of PAs to the achievement of MDGs; FiuElisara (INTERNATIONAL INDIGENOUS FORUM ON
BIODIVERSITY) expressed disappointment that none of the background
documents reflect COP-7 decisions to fully and effectively involve, and
fully respect the rights of, indigenous and local communities in the
establishment, management and monitoring of PAs.

Keynote Presentations:

NikLopoukhine, Chair of the IUCN World Commission on
Protected Areas, addressed key issues for implementing the work programme, stressing the need to clearly
demonstrate the contribution of PAs to human
well-being, including through recognizing the value of ecosystem
services and linking PAs to MDGs.

Carlos Salinas, Director of the Peruvian System of PAs, noted that Peru has designated a total
area of 17.7 million hectares as PAs. He said
the CBD is a good tool to integrate reduction of biodiversity loss with
poverty alleviation, and highlighted the importance of timely and
adequate funding for PAs.

CANADA identified the UN
General Assembly (UNGA) as the primary forum to discuss international
governance aspects.
Above photo: Robert McLean (Canada)

The EU proposed short- and medium-term responses to preserving marine
biodiversity, and highlighted the CBD’s
role in proposing procedures and criteria for high seas MPAs, and establishing registers of marine areas
requiring protection.
Above photo L-R: Robert H. van Dijkand
J.W. Nieuwenhuis (the Netherlands
on behalf of the EU)